A hazy spell model drifted through his mental power space.
This was the first time Ruger had encountered such a thing. He had put no effort into constructing anything. It was as though he had touched something, engaged in some unusual form of communication with it, and this spell model had come into being on its own.
He tilted his head. Perhaps this was not the first time after all. He had encountered something similar when making Foul-Smelling Skin permanent: his mind had drifted somewhere far away and seen that thing, and the spell model for Foul-Smelling Skin had changed naturally. Though a new spell model had not appeared out of nowhere, it was remarkably similar to the current situation.
This newly appeared spell model was not clear enough yet, another first for him. He would probably have to go further and understand the Word of Flame before it could become clear. When constructing spell models before, success had been success and failure had been failure. He had never encountered this hazy state, seemingly suspended between the two.
After briefly examining it, Ruger opened his eyes and looked at the campfire before him.
As he watched the campfire, a strange feeling arose within him. He opened his mouth instinctively, as though he had stuffed Big Silly Hum into it, and let out a series of sounds with no apparent meaning.
The firelight flickered.
He abruptly turned to look at the mouthless man beside him, Master Jensen.
"Can the Word of Flame be mastered while one is still an apprentice?" Ruger asked softly.
The question seemed to leave the other two present somewhat baffled.
"For someone sufficiently gifted in this area, it is actually easier to comprehend it as an apprentice," the mouthless Jensen said. "I mean comprehending it on your